(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fuel dispensing systems and, more particularly, to a pump controller having a plurality of individual selectors for selecting a specific fuel product.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The need to control a number of electrical devices in response to control inputs received from a number of sources, and, in particular, to control relatively few electrical devices in response to control inputs received from relatively many sources, can occur in a variety of control system installations.
In automotive gasoline and diesel-fuel filling stations, for example, several individual fuel hoses or dispensers are typically supplied with fuel provided from a single submersible pump fitted to a common underground storage tank. In larger filling stations, it is not uncommon for as many as eight underground storage tanks to supply fuel to as many as forty-eight hoses. Thus, several control input sources can exist for actuating the submersible pump of each storage tank.
To provide for the selective actuation of individual submersible pumps in response to control inputs received from a number of sources, various systems have been developed. In one such system, individual electrical switches, associated with each of the hoses or dispensers supplied from a common tank, are commonly connected to each other and to the coil of an electrical relay which controls the application of power to a submersible pump fitted to the tank. Although this system is effective in inexpensively implementing the desired control effect, it suffers the serious disadvantage of promoting undesirable xe2x80x9cfeedbacksxe2x80x9d which render all of the unused dispensers electrically xe2x80x9chotxe2x80x9d whenever the switch of any one dispenser is closed. In the event it becomes necessary to remove a fuel dispenser from service for purposes of maintenance, repair, or to avoid the creation of a hazardous condition following, for example, an accidental collision between an automobile and a dispenser, the potential for the occurrence of such feedbacks requires that each of the remaining, functioning dispensers, which are connected to the common relay, be shut down also. In a busy station, the need to shut down otherwise fully functional dispensers can have serious adverse economic consequences for the filling station operator.
To avoid the development of such undesirable feedbacks, individual relays, coupled to a common relay for actuating a single submersible pump, can be individually controlled by the switches associated with each hose or dispenser. Although effective, the cost of the relays and additional wiring associated with this approach can be considerable.
Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved fuel dispensing system having a pump controller which provides a plurality of individual selectors for selecting a specific fuel product while, at the same time, includes an interconnecting expandable length bus for connecting additional station control components, such as pump control devices, indicator modules or diagnostic modules, to one another to permit easy expansion for larger stations.
The present invention is directed to a fuel dispensing system. The system includes: a plurality of storage tanks for storing a plurality of fuel products; at least one dispenser; at least one pump for pumping fuel from the storage tanks to the dispenser; and a pump controller connected to the dispenser and the pump having a plurality of individual selectors for selecting a specific fuel product. In the preferred embodiment, the pump controller includes: a plurality of individual selectors for selecting a specific fuel product; and an interconnecting expandable length bus for connecting additional station components to one another. The system may further include an emergency stop system.
In the preferred embodiment, the storage tanks are underground storage tanks for storing fuel, including gasoline of various grades and diesel fuel. Also, the pumps are submersible pumps located in one or more of the storage tanks. In the preferred embodiment, the system includes at least one pump per product and may further include a plurality of pumps having at least one pump per product.
Each dispenser includes a product nozzle, at least one dispenser pump control signal for activating an associated pump, and a control signal actuator. The control signal actuator is user actuated.
In the preferred embodiment, the pump controller includes a plurality of individual selectors for selecting a specific fuel product; and an interconnecting expandable length bus for connecting additional station components to one another. The plurality of selectors includes bus input selectors and bus output selectors. Each bus input selector is associated with a pair of bus pump control signal lines. In the preferred embodiment, the pairs of bus pump control signal lines are grouped in sets of four for a total of eight bus pump signal lines. Also, each bus output selector is associated with a pump. The interconnecting expandable length bus includes a plurality of bus pump control signal lines and, in the preferred embodiment, the interconnecting expandable bus includes eight bus pump control signal lines.
The pump controller may further include a bus power supply and pump relays. In addition, it also may further include a plurality of electrical isolators, preferably optical isolators, upstream of the plurality of selectors and, preferably, includes at least one isolator per dispenser pump control signal input.
In the preferred embodiment, the interconnecting expandable length bus for connecting additional station components to one another further includes at least one accessory control signal line for lighting or an emergency stop signal line.
The emergency stop system may include at least one emergency stop actuator and at least one electrical power disconnector. In addition, the emergency stop actuator may further include a plurality of emergency stop actuators at various locations. In the preferred embodiment, the electrical power disconnector includes one for each dispenser and one for each pump.
The emergency stop system may further include at least one accessory emergency stop disconnector. In addition, it may further include an emergency system reset. In the preferred embodiment, the emergency stop system reset is normally in an open position. Also, the emergency stop system may include an emergency stop system reset delay module.
Finally, in the preferred embodiment, the emergency stop system includes a microprocessor module. The microprocessor module provides additional functions including: emergency stop and reset switch diagnostics; status and mode indicators; and selectable connections to emergency stop and reset switches.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a fuel dispensing system including: a plurality of storage tanks for storing a plurality of fuel products; at least one dispenser; at least one pump for pumping fuel from the storage tanks to the dispenser; and a pump controller connected to the dispenser and the pump having a plurality of individual selectors for selecting a specific fuel product.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a pump controller for a fuel dispensing system having a plurality of storage tanks for storing a plurality of fuel products; at least one dispenser; at least one pump for pumping fuel from the storage tanks to the dispenser, the pump controller including: (a) a plurality of individual selectors for selecting a specific fuel product; and (b) an interconnecting expandable length bus for connecting additional station components to one another.
Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a fuel dispensing system including: a plurality of storage tanks for storing a plurality of fuel products; at least one dispenser; at least one pump for pumping fuel from the storage tanks to the dispenser; a pump controller connected to the dispenser and the pump having a plurality of individual selectors for selecting a specific fuel product, the pump controller including: (i) a plurality of individual selectors for selecting a specific fuel product; and (ii) an interconnecting expandable length bus for connecting additional station components to one another; and an emergency stop system.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings.